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Malaysia to withdraw peace monitor teams from southern Philippines

Malaysia will begin
pulling out its peace monitoring teams from the southern Philippines next month
in response to the lack of progress in peace talks between Manila and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said Thursday,
reported dpa.

"Principally,
we want progress. But we have seen that the progress is almost
non-recordable," Rais was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news
agency.

"So, to
continue being what we are there, I think, is a question of resource depletion.

"When there is
progress, we should continue. But you see when there is no progress, we should
not extend stay," he said.

Last Monday, Rais
said Malaysia would not send any more teams to the troubled Philippine island
of Mindanao after the mandate of its current team ends in September.

However, Deputy
Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday that the government would start a "phased
withdrawal" of its personnel from as early as next month.

Malaysia contributes
the majority of about 60 troops, police and other officers safeguarding a 2003
cease-fire between the Philippine military and the MILF, which is battling for
self-rule in the southern Philippines.